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Charles Joseph Ogle

March 12th, 1951

Sheriff's Captain Charles Joseph Ogle, a 28-year veteran of the Sheriff's Department, died in Sutter Hospital several hours after his squad car was struck by a taxicab. The accident occurred at the intersection of Airport Road and Grand Avenue at 2:15 a.m. The Highway Patrol reported Captain Ogle and Deputy Gene Roark were parked in the car off the pavement when the taxi struck the unit broadside. Roark was thrown from the car and sustained only cuts and bruises. The driver of the cab suffered only minor injuries.

The driver of the cab said he thought the squad car was going to pull across Airport Road, upon which he was traveling, so he pulled to the right in an effort to go behind it. The taxi showed 65 feet of skid marks. Ogle joined the department under Sheriff Ellis Jones and during the prohibition era he worked under then undersheriff and later Sheriff Don Cox in stamping out liquor operations.

Law enforcement was Captain Ogle's main interest and he was reportedly an excellent detective. At the time he died, he had been serving in the department's "advisement branch" to younger deputies. His main occupation was the inside night captain's desk, but on the midnight shift he often took over squad car duties.

Upon learning of Captain Ogle's death, Judge Coughlin of the Sacramento Superior Court interrupted the scheduled calendar to express his personal sorrow, calling Ogle an "outstanding public servant." Two attorneys in the courtroom, standing before the bench, were called upon to say a few words about the 50-year old veteran and each praised him highly.